Analyze the ORIGINS OF THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE 1441-1750 from MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES with AFRICAN VOICE CENTERED — Portuguese 1441 Lagos + Elmina Castle 1482 + Kongo conversion paradox + Asante/Dahomey/Oyo polities + Middle Passage demographics 12.5M embarked / 10.7M arrived — anchored in Teaching Hard History K-12 framework + 1619 Project pedagogical materials + Equiano 1789
Exercise
Difficulty 3
~8 min
hist.g7.s.ex_42
Calculation
Prompt
Use SlaveVoyages.org Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database 2009 + math.g7.s.rp proportional reasoning: 12.5 million Africans embarked; 10.7 million arrived. Calculate Middle Passage mortality count + percentage.
How it's presented
mode
text
Answer criteria
type
rubric essay
rubric
- points
- 3
- criterion
- 1.8M deaths
- points
- 3
- criterion
- ~14.4% mortality (1.8/12.5)
- points
- 3
- criterion
- Names Teaching Hard History style 'enslaved people' not 'slaves'
- points
- 2
- criterion
- Refuses 'sad chapter' euphemism
Hints
- Mortality = (embarked - arrived) / embarked = (12.5 - 10.7) / 12.5 = 1.8/12.5 = 0.144 = 14.4%.
- Apply Teaching Hard History style throughout.
Misconceptions to watch
- Treating numbers without human-life framing
- Using 'slaves' instead of 'enslaved people'
Used in lessons